Vulnerable Children
Contrary to
the stereotype, the majority of Canada’s vulnerable children
are not living in low-income families, says Dr. Doug Willms, editor
of Vulnerable Children. 37% of children in the lowest
quarter of family income are considered “vulnerable”,
compared to 28.6% in the second lowest quarter, 25.4% in the second
highest quarter and 24.2% in Canada’s wealthiest families.
Says Dr. Willms, “these results confront the stereotype
that the majority of children who have problems at school or display
behavioural problems are from poor families: it is simply not
the case.”
Vulnerable
Children, is a comprehensive discussion of the results of
the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, for which
Dr. Willms is the lead researcher.
The survey
(and subsequent book) of 20,000 Canadian children from infancy
to age 11 sought out the factors that influence child vulnerability
and identified central issues to guide policy development and
interventions to improve the health and well-being of Canadian
children. Children are considered “vulnerable” if
they scored poorly on key behavioural and cognitive tests measuring
vocabulary, mathematics, emotional health and violent behaviour
tendencies.
Amongst the
key findings of the ongoing survey:
- More than
one quarter of Canada’s 4.4 million children have some
form of behavioural or learning problems.
- Vulnerability
is not permanent. After two cycles of the survey, many vulnerable
children did not remain the same from one cycle to the next.
The percentage of vulnerable children (28%) remained unchanged,
however in the second cycle, 16% were no longer considered vulnerable,
while 15% became vulnerable. While 13% remained vulnerable throughout
both cycles, the results suggest that 87% of children may experience
vulnerability, but the situation is not permanent.
- Vulnerability
is more common amongst boys, while girls often internalize their
responses and are less likely to receive help.
- Three
important factors in preventing vulnerability are: parenting
style, family function and mother’s mental health.
Vulnerable
Children goes into great depth about the findings of the
NLSCY, not only examining the effects of child vulnerability,
but offering interventions and preventative measures to improve
childhood outcomes.
To share more
about these findings and proposed solutions, Doug Willms will
be a keynote speaker at Making Children Matter: Building
Better Communities for Children, a conference presented
by Investing in Children and Voices for Children. The conference
will be a launching point for a network of sharing and proactive
approaches to building better communities for children. Outstanding
researchers, advocates and professionals will come together to
share leading-edge models and best practices, disseminate information
and research, network with like-minded professionals and reenergize
imaginations. Copies of Vulnerable Children will also be available
for purchase.
For more information
on the conference, visit the official
conference webpage.
